


Dragons of Themyscira (How to Train Your Dragon AU)

by LumityGreyskull



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Marvel, Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - How to Train Your Dragon Fusion, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Berk (How to Train Your Dragon), Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, OOC Diana, Protective Diana (Wonder Woman), Themyscira (DCU), Themyscira and Berk are the same place, but not a lot, i think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-25 14:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30090636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LumityGreyskull/pseuds/LumityGreyskull
Summary: This is Themyscira, no one has been able to find us for years and my mother takes pride in that. We used to be only women and Amazon's but after my grandmother stepped down, my mom allowed strays in but by her knowledge and only a few. Themyscira is amazing but we still have a pest problem. The thing is the pests are dragons.
Relationships: Diana (Wonder Woman) & Tony Stark, Diana (Wonder Wonder) & Gwen Stacy, Gwen Stacy & Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon), Harley Keener & Cassie Lang, Michelle Jones & Flash Thompson, Michelle Jones & Gwen Stacy, Michelle Jones/Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker & Gwen Stacy, Steve Rogers & Gwen Stacy, Tony Stark & Gwen Stacy





	1. This is Themyscira

**Author's Note:**

> I thought about this once and now I can't forget about it. I will take literally anything that can help me improve since this is my first actual fanfic. I hope to the people who somehow find and read this like it. I also suggest listening to the soundtrack but you don't have to.

**This, is Themyscira. It's never been found until someone had left for war. After that she let a few strays in and we were no longer just women. My home. In a word, sturdy. And it's been here for centuries, but every building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. You see most places have mice or mosquitos. We have. . .**

Sheep are on a hill eating grass peacefully and suddenly one is snatched. Gwen opens the door and sees a dragon look at her and blast fire and she slams the door and can feel the heat of the fire on her back.

**. . . dragons.**

She opens the now sizzling door and jump off her porch. There's warriors pouring out of buildings as Gwen trying to maneuver through them. **Most people would leave. Not us. We're Amazons. We have stubbornness issues.** There's people sounding alarms and still running out with axes and swords. Gwen is still running through the alleys trying to make her way through the fight. **My name is Gwen. It's not a bad name so I don't mind. Parents here believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming demeanor wouldn't do that.** Dragons sweep back and forth, dodging axes and blasting those who throw them. Gwen gets knocked down from an Amazon knocking into her. "Ahhhhhhh! Oh, morning!" They screamed. She gets up from the floor and continue to rush past everyone.

**Meet the neighbors. We have Antiope the General.** "What are you doing out?" **Menalippe the Lieutenant.** "Get inside!" **Philippus the Captain of the Royal Guard.** "Get back inside!" 

**The strongest Amazon of them all.** She picks Gwen up from a path of a strafing dragon and holds me up. "Gwen?! What is she doing out again?!" She says to the crowd. "What are you doing out?! Get inside!" She says to her, well more like screamed. Flames light up her face and Gwen can see her worried yet annoyed look and then she puts her down. **That's Diana also known as Wonder Woman. She's the queen after her mother had stepped down from the position. They say that when she was younger she could tear through the other Amazons with ease. Do I believe it?** She grabs a wooden cart and throws it, knocking a Dragon out of the sky. **Yes I do.** After an explosion that forces a few Amazons to duck, she stands up and brushes the flaming debris off her shoulder. "What have we got?" "Gronkles, Nadders, Zipplebacks. Oh and Antiope saw a Monstrous Nightmare." Bucky replies "Any Night Furies?" Diana asks "None so far." "Good." Diana says, relieved. "Hoist the torches!" Artemis demands. Massive flaming braziers are raised on poles, lighting up the night sky and revealing swirling dragons of all types.

Below, Gwen crosses an open plaza and ducks into an open building with a large chimney. She crossed behind a counter, where a man with a blue light in his chest and another man, wearing a red, white, and blue suit are reshaping blades with a hammer and tongs appendage. "Ah, nice of you to join the party. We thought you'd been carried off." Tony says while greeting Gwen. "Actually it was Tony who thought you'd been carried away." Steve says. Gwen puts on her leather apron and starts to help Steve put away Tony's scattered appendages. "Who me? Nah, come on! I'm way too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all this." She says while striking a bodybuilder pose. "They need toothpicks, don't they?" Tony asks rhetorically. Gwen starts working, transferring the bent and chipped weapons to the forge as Amazons crowd the counter for replacements. **The meathead with sarcasm and a glowing thing in his chest is Tony. I've been his apprentice ever since I was little . . . well littler. The same goes for the man in red, white, and blue who is Steve. Steve is cool.**

"We move to the lower defenses. We'll counter-attack with the catapults." Diana speaks making a plan with everyone else. Armed men and women rush past, flanking others who are carrying sheep to safety. Diana follows up the rear as, overhead, a dragon covers the rooftops with Napalm-like fire. **See? Old village. Lots and lots of new houses.** Menalippe shouts, "Fire!" In response, the fire brigade charges through the plaza. Five teens, tugging a large wooden cask on wheels. From it, they fill buckets of water to douse the flames. One among them is a cute Amazon girl. Gwen leans out of the stall to watch. **Oh and that's Peter, Flash. The twins Harley and Cassie. And . . .MJ.** A slow-motion explosion erupts behind her, framing her in a ball of fire. The others join her, looking awesome and heroic. **Their job is so much cooler.**

Gwen tries to join in as they walk past but Steve picks her up and puts her back inside. "Ah, come on. Let me out, please. I need to make my mark." Gwen pleads. "Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places." Steve responds. "Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon. My life will get infinitely better. I might even get a date." "You can't lift a hammer. You can't swing an axe." Steve grabs a bola, "You can't even throw one of these." An Amazon runs by and nabs it out of Steve's hand, hurling it at a dive-bombing Gronkle. The bola binds it's legs, sending it into a heavy crash. "Okay fine, but . . ." Gwen rushes to the corner of the stall and present a wheel-barrow like contraption. " . . . this will do it for me." She opens the hinged lid of the device. An arm springs up, equipped with twin bows. They prematurely launch a bola, narrowly missing Steve . . . and taking out an Amazon at the corner. "See this is what I'm talking about." Tony decides to step in, "Mild calibration issue, happens more often than you think." Steve, ignoring his husband, "Gwen. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all . . ." He starts gesturing to my general direction, " . . . this." "But . . . you just pointed to all of me." Gwen replies astonished. Tony decides to step again, "Yes, that's it! That's what he means! Just tone down all of you." "Ohhhh . . ." Which leaves Gwen's mouth threateningly. "Ohhhhh, yes." Tony mimics.

"You, two, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much raw . . . Amazonness contained. There will be consequences." Steve tosses Gwen a sword. "I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now." She takes it begrudgingly and throws it onto the grinding wheel. Gwen stews and start fantasizing. **One day I'll get out there. Because killing a dragon is everything around here.** Nadders land, gathering like seagulls around a seemingly vacant house. **A Nadder head is sure to get me at least noticed.** The Nadders clamber onto the building, tearing the roof and walls apart. Sheep pour out and scatter. Elsewhere, hippo-like Gronckles pick drying racks clean of fish and fly off like loaded pelicans. **Gronckles are tough. Taking down one of those would definitely get me a girlfriend or a boyfriend.** A stealthy, snake-like dragon head peeks over a rooftop, breathing gas into a chimney. **A Zippelback? Exotic, exciting. Two heads, twice the status.** A second head pokes through the door and lights it. _Kablam!_ The two heads fly through the explosion, their necks zipping back to reveal a single body. It flies past Diana as she climbs up to the top of a catapult tower. "They found the sheep!" Bucky informs her. Diana, frustrated, "Concentrate fire over the lower bank!" "Fire!" Boulders are catapulted at the corralling Nadders. Just as a huge red dragon whips past, spraying the base of the catapult with sticky fire. **And then there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Amazons go after those. They have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire.** It emerges from the flames, climbing the catapult with a leering, toothy grin. "Reload! I'll take care of this." Diana takes on the Nightmare, face to hammer. Suddenly, a load ballistic moaning streaks overhead. The catapult crew ducks.

Gwen looks up from my work, reacting to the same sound. **But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one has ever seen. We call it the-** "Night Fury! Get down!" Bucky yells, alarming everyone. Vikings everywhere take shelter. The moaning sound builds. The Monstrous Nightmare suddenly stops fighting and takes flight. Diana looks skyward. "Jump!" _Kaboom!_ The catapult explodes as though hit by an artillery shell, sending Diana and the crew leaping for their lives. **This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and-** The sound decreases, leaving the crippled catapult in flames. **-Never misses.** **No one has ever killed a Night Fury. That's why I'm going to be the first.** Tony puts down his hammer and grabs an axe. Steve grabs his shield and puts on his helmet. "Man the fort, Gwen. They need us out there." Steve pauses, and turns with a threatening glare. "Stay. Put. There. You know what I mean." Stony charge into the fray, hollering. A smirk crosses Gwen's face. She pushed the wheeled contraption through a wall of clustered Amazons. Gwen weaves through the ongoing mayhem as fast as her legs can carry her. Many Amazons tell her to go inside or ask her where she's going. "I know. Be right back!" On the plain below Nadders have cornered the house full of sheep. They close in, ready to spring upon them. Diana suddenly appears, hurling fishing nets over them. The surprised Nadders are caught. Diana and the others rush in. A Nadder blasts a hole through it's net. Diana leaps onto it, clamping her arms around it's head, forcing it's jaws shut. "Mind yourselves! The devils still have some juice in them." She warns the others. 

On the plain above, Gwen reaches a cliff overlooking the smoking catapult and drop the handles to the ground. She cranks several levers, unfolding and then cocking the bowed arms of my contraption. She drops a bola onto the chamber and then pivot the weapons on a gimbal head toward the dark sky. Gwen listens with her eyes pressed to the scope, hand on the trigger. She hears the Night Fury approaching and turns her aim to the defense tower. It closes in for the final strike, completely camouflaged in the night. "Come on. Give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at. _Kablam!_ The tower topples. The blast of fire illuminates the dragon for a split second. She pulls the trigger. _Kerthunk!_ The flexed arms snap forward, springing the weapon off the ground. The bola disappears into the night sky, followed by a whack and a screech. "Oh I hit it! Yes, I hit it! Did anybody see that?" Her victory is short-lived as a Monstrous Nightmare appears, slithering up over the lip of the cliff. "Except for you." 

Diana keeps holding down the netted Nadder. She hears a familiar holler and looks up to see Gwen running through the plaza, screaming, with the Nightmare fast on their heels. Alarmed, Diana abandons the Nadders and runs off. She looks to Bucky and the Amazons and reminds them, "Do not let the Nadders escape!" In the plaza, Amazons scatter as Gwen dodges a near fatal blast. The Nightmare's sticky, Napalm-like fire splashes up onto buildings, setting them alight. Gwen ducks behind the last standing brazier, the only shelter available. The Nightmare blasts it, spraying fire all around him. She peers around the smoldering post. No sign of the Nightmare. Gwen turns back to find it leering at her, blocking her escape. It takes a deep breath and she knows she's finished. Suddenly, Diana leaps between them, tackling the Nightmare to the ground. They tumble and wrestle, resuming their earlier fight. The Nightmare tries to toast her but only coughs up smoke. "You're all out" She smashes the Nightmare repeatedly in the face, driving it away. It takes to the air and disappears. Winded, she turns to Gwen. **Oh, and there's one more thing you need to know.** The burnt brazier pole collapses, sending the massive iron basket crashing. It bounces down the hill, destroying as it goes and scattering Amazons who were holding down the netted Nadders. The freed dragons escape with several sheep in tow. Gwen winces a little.

"Sorry, Mom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so people know. Peter is Fishlegs.


	2. The Downed Dragon

Gwen sheepishly says, "Okay, but I hit a Night Fury." Diana grabs Gwen's wrist and drags her away. Gwen could feel the embarrassment radiating off of her. "It's not like the last few times, Mom. I mean I really hit it. You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point. Let's get a search party out there, before it-" "-Stop! Just." She takes a deep breath and sighs before continuing her sentence. "Stop." She releases her hold on Gwen. Everyone goes silent, staring expectantly. "Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter's almost here and I have an entire island to feed!" Gwen looks around and all eyes are on her. "Between you and me, the village could do with a little feeding, don't ya think?" She retorts back. "This isn't a joke, Gwen!" She lets out an exasperated sigh. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?" "I can't stop myself. I see a dragon and I have to just . . . kill it, you know? It's who I am, Mom." Gwen gives her an excuse, not the best one she could but hey. "You are many things, Gwen. But a dragon killer or even a killer is not one of them." Diana tells her. Gwen takes a look around and sees a lot of people agreeing and nodding their heads. "Get back to the house." Diana looks at Tony and Steve right after, "Make sure she gets there. I have her mess to clean up." She shakes her head and walks off in the opposite direction.

"Quite the performance." Harley teases. "I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!" Flash teases her as well but Gwen doesn't really give much thought to it. "Thank you, thank you. I was trying so . . ." She keeps walking and trying to avoid MJ's glare. She walks further and further up the hill and closer to the house. "I really did hit one." She tells Tony and Steve. "Sure, Pumpkin." Steve replies, "She never listens." "Well, it runs in the family." Tony retorts. "And when she does, it's always with this . . . disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped the meat in her sandwich." Gwen tries to do her best impression of my Diana, "Excuse me, barmaid. I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra large woman with inhuman strength. Extra guts and glory on the side. This here. This here is a talking fishbone." "You're thinking about this all wrong." Steve tells her. "It's not so much what you look like. It's what's inside that she can't stand." Tony informs her. "Thank you, for summing that up." They reach the doorway. Steve gives Tony a glare and then looks back at Gwen, "Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not." Gwen sighs heavily, "I just want to be one of you guys." Steve looks at her sympathetically and Tony looks like he's debating whether or not he's sleeping on the couch. Gwen turns around and goes inside through the front door and keeps going and runs straight through the back door.

**Meanwhile, in the Great Hall**

"Either we finish them or they'll finish us! It's the only way we'll get rid of them!" Bucky tells the other Amazons and he looks to Diana for a plan. "If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons might leave. They'll find another home." She sinks her blade into a large nautical map, spread out on the table. The blade pierces the middle of an uncharted corner, swirling with painted sea monsters and dragons. "One more search. Before the ice sets in." She tells everyone. "Those ships never come back." Someone says. "We're Amazons. It's an occupational hazard. Now who's with me?" Diana throws up her fist. No one follows.

The crowd shifts in restless silence. Head scratches. Eyes averted. "Today's not a good for me." "I've gotta do my axe returns." "Alright. Those who stay will look after Gwen." Diana bargains. Hands jut into the air, volunteers galore. Enthusiastic murmurs of prep and packing fill the room. "To the ships!" "I'm with you Diana!" Bucky tells her. "That's more like it." She says. The Amazons rush for the door, leaving Steve, Tony and Diana alone. Tony finishes the last of caffeine, "Steve and I'll go pack our undies." "No, I need you both to stay and train some new recruits." Diana informs them. "Oh, perfect. And while we're busy, Gwen can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharps blades, lots of time to themselves. What could go wrong?" Tony sarcastically replies. Diana sinks into the bench beside the two of them. "What am I going to do with her?" "Put her in training with the others." Steve suggests, "No, I'm serious." "So are we." Diana turns a little and glares at the both of them. "She'd be killed before you let the first dragon out of it's cage." She tells them. "Oh, you don't know that." Steve fights back, "I do know that, actually." "No, you don't." "No, actually I do." "No you don't!" "Listen! You know what she's like. From the time she could crawl she's been . . . different. She doesn't listen. Has the attention span of a sparrow. I take her fishing and she goes hunting for . . . for trolls." "Trolls exist! They steal your socks." Tony says defensively, "But only the left ones. What's with that?" "When I was younger-" Diana starts and then gets interrupted by Tony, "Here we go."

"My aunt told me to hit her as hard as I could and I did it. I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question her. And you know what happened?" "You got a throbbing and sore fist." Tony says. "I blasted her halfway across the cove. It taught me what an Amazon could do, you two. They could kill gods, crush mountains, level forests, tame seas! Even when I was a girl, I knew what I was, what I could become." Diana sighs. "Gwen is not that girl." "You can't stop her, Diana. You can only prepare her. Look, I know it seems hopeless. But the truth is you won't always be around to protect her. She's going to get out there again. She's probably out there now." Steve tells her.

**In the woods**

There is a notebook with a drawn map of the island, covered in X's. Gwen looks up from it and peeks over the gorge, expectantly and sees nothing. She adds another 'X' to the page, then scratches her pencil over the whole map in frustration. She snaps the book closed and pockets it. "Uggh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an entire dragon." Gwen whacks a low-hanging branch. It snaps back at her, hitting her in the face. She looks up to see a snapped tree trunk. Her eyes follow it to a long trench of up-turned earth. She follows it to a downed, black dragon, it's body and tail tangled in a bola. It appears dead. Gwen approaches it, beaming.

"Oh wow. I did it. I did it. This fixes everything." Gwen says in shock. "Yes!" She strikes a victory pose, planting her foot on the fallen Night Fury. "I have brought down this mighty beast! Woah!" The dragon suddenly shifts. Gwen springs back, terrified. She turns her blade on it. Rattled, Gwen creeps along the length of the weak, wounded dragon, dagger positioned to strike. As she reaches the head, Gwen finds the Night Fury staring coldly at her. Gwen tries to look away, but she's drawn back to its unnerving, unflinching stare. With the dragon safely tangled in the ropes, Gwen jabs the dragon with her dagger, puffing herself up with false confidence. "I'm going to kill you, Dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my mother. I'm an Amazon. I am an AMAZON!" Gwen raises the dagger, determined to prove her Amazon-ness. The dragon's labored breathing breaks Gwen's clenched concentration. She opens an eye, uncertainty leaking through. The dragon holds the stare. Something heartfelt is exchanged. Finally, the Night Fury closes it's eye and lowers his head, accepting to his fate. Gwen tries to go through with it, holding the dagger aloft fighting herself until finally lowering it with a frustrated sigh. She looks over the dragon's chaffed rope wounds.

"I did this." Gwen mutters, ashamed. She turns to leave and glances back at the dragon, chest heaving. Gwen grumbles and checks over her shoulder to ensure that no one is watching then hurries to cut the ropes. The Night Fury's eye shoots open. With the dragon watching her every move, Gwen hurriedly saws through the bola ropes. As the last rope falls free, the Night Fury suddenly pounces. In a blur, the dragon is upon her, pinning Gwen down grazing her neck. Looking like it's about to kill her. Gwen is paralyzed. The dragon's breath ruffles her hair. Gwen opens her eyes to find the Night Fury's wolf-like stare boring into her. The exchange is intense. The dragon draws a deep breath, as though it's about to torch her, then lets out an ear piercing scream instead. It turns to take flight, flapping violently through the canopy of trees. It bashes against a nearby mountain side, recovers, and drops out of view some distance away. Winded, Gwen struggles to her feet, staggers a few steps, collapses to her knees, and faints.

**A while later in Gwen's home**

Gwen enters her house to see Diana, seated on a thick slice of tree-trunk. She is slouched over the fire-pit, stirring the coals with her axe. Embers waft around her. Gwen tries to sneak past, climbing and crawling the stairs to her room. "Gwen." Caught, Gwen responds, "Mom. Uh. . ." Diana stands and takes a breath. "I, uh . . . I have to talk to you, Mom." "I need to speak with you too." Gwen and Diana straighten at the same moment. "I've decided I don't want to want to fight dragons." "I think it's time you learn to fight dragons." They both say at the same time. "What?" "What?" "You go first." Diana suggests. "No, you go first." Gwen also suggests. "Alright. You get your wish. Dragon training. You start in the morning." "Oh man, I should've gone first. Uh, 'cause I was thinking, you know we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Amazons, but we do have enough bread-making Amazons, or small home repair Amazons-" "-You'll need this." Diana interrupts her daughter and hands Gwen her axe. Gwen avoids taking it. "I don't want to fight dragons." "Come on. Yes, you do." "Rephrase. Mom I can't kill dragons." "But you will kill dragons." "No, I'm really very extra sure that I won't." "It's time Gwen." "Can you not hear me?"

"This is serious!" Diana forces the axe into Gwen's hands. It's weight drags her down. She looks up to see Diana under-lit with firelight. "When you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us. You talk like us. You think like us. No more off. . ." Diana gestures non-specifically at Gwen. " . . .this." "You just gestured to all of me." "Deal?" "This conversation is feeling very one-sided." "Deal?" Gwen glances at the axe in her hands. It's a no-win argument. "Deal. Satisfied?" Diana grabs her sword and duffel bag. "Good. Train hard. I'll be back. Probably." "And I'll be here. Maybe." Diana heads out the door, leaving Gwen holding the axe.


	3. Dragon Training/Wounded

**The Training Grounds**

Steve raises a massive iron gate at the entrance of a vast stone area. "Welcome to dragon training!" Steve greets, the recruits file through the gate and out into the arena floor. They take it in like gladiators entering the colosseum. The walls are covered in scorched silhouettes of blasted Amazons. It's a grim yet awe-inspiring place. "No turning back." MJ says, "I hope I get some serious burns." Harley informs Cassie, "I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back." She tells her brother. "Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." MJ tells them, "Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain. Love it." Gwen replies, walking into the arena, "Oh great. Who let her in?" Harley asks. "Let's get started! The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing their first dragon in front of the entire island." Tony announces, "Gwen already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify her or . . .?" Flash teases, the rest of the recruits laugh. "Can I transfer to the class with the cool Amazons?" Harley asks. Tony throws a supportive arm around Gwen and ushers her along with Steve in tow, "Don't worry. You're small and weak like how Steve was. That'll make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more warrior-like teens instead." Tony tells Gwen, sounding a bit cheery and confident. Gwen looks at Tony confused and Steve looks like he finally decided Tony was sleeping on the couch.

Tony sticks Gwen in line with the others and continues on with Steve toward five massive reinforced doors. Terrible roars and bellows issue from within. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight." Steve announces to the six of us. Peter bounces and giggles with excitement, barely able to contain himself. "The Deadly Nadder." Tony starts, "Speed eight. Armor sixteen." Peter says under his breath, "The Hideous Zippleback." "Plus eleven stealth. Times two." "The Monstrous Nightmare." "Firepower fifteen." "The Terrible Terror." "Attack eight. Venom twelve." "CAN YOU STOP THAT!" Tony shouts at Peter, "And . . . the Gronkle." "Jaw strength, eight." Peter says quietly to himself. Tony pulls a lever, raising the cross beam on the last of the doors. "Woah, wait! Aren't you gonna teach us first?!" Flash yells, asking Tony and Steve for the answer, "We believe in learning on the job." Steve tells him. _BAM!_ A Gronkle thunders out of it's cave, charging into the ring like a rhino. The recruits scramble in every direction. Except for Cassie and Harley who rush towards it, like pumped-up rodeo clowns. "Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead. Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?" Steve asks, "A doctor?" Gwen unsurely answers, "Five plus speed?" Peter answers incorrectly, "A shield." MJ answers, "Correct. Shields. Go." Steve tells them. The recruits scramble for shields, finding them scattered around the ring.

"Your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield." Tony tells them. Gwen struggles to lift her shield. Steve helps her and sends her running. Cass and Harls stand amidst a dozen shields but only one has a skull painted on it. They both grab it at the same time. "Get your hands off my shield!" Harley screams at his sister, "There are like a million shields!" Cassie yells back at him. "Take that one, it has a flower on it. Girls like flowers." Harley tells his sister that and Cassie uses the shield to bash Harley in the face but he doesn't let go, "Oops, now this one has blood on it." The Gronkle takes aim at the distracted siblings. _Blam!_ The shield is blasted out of both of their hands. Harls and Cass spin like tops and fall down. "Harley, Cassie, you're out!" Tony shouts at them, "What?" Harley and Cassie ask confused and dazed. The Gronkle scoops up a pile of rocks and swallows them back. The teens gather on the far side of the ring. "Those shields are good for another thing. Noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim." Steve informs them. The kids scoop up weapons and begin hammering on their shields. The Gronkle shakes it's head at the clatter.

**Gronkles POV - The teens become blurry and scrambled.(POV end)**

"All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronkle have?" Tony asks the teens, "Five!" Flash shouts confidently, "No, six." Peter says correcting Flash, "Correct, six. That's one for each of you!" Tony happily tells the recruits. "I really don't think my aunt would-" Peter gets interrupted by a blast and gets his shield blasted away. "Peter, out." Steve says, he spots Gwen hiding from the Gronkles molten slugs, "Gwen, get in there!". MJ is bouncing on her heels, ready to dodge a blast. Flash appears, trying to hit on her. "So anyway, I'm moving into my parents' basement. You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out." MJ cartwheels out of the way, allowing a shot to shoot past her and hit Flash's shield. He's blasted onto his back.

"Flash! You're done!" Tony shouts. MJ rolls to a stop beside Gwen, who stirs awkwardly, trying to look cool. "So, I guess it's just you and me huh?" Gwen says with her voice breaking, "No. Just you." MJ tells her before rolling away. A split second later a lava slug knocks Gwen's shield clear off her arm, leaving her exposed. "One shot left!" Steve announces. Gwen panics and chases after her shield as it rolls across the ring. The sudden movements sends the Gronkle chasing after her, leaving MJ in the clear. "Gwen!" Both Tony and Steve shout, worried. The Gronkle drives straight toward Gwen, pinning her against the wall. It opens it's mouth and cocks it's tail, ready to fire. Steve lunges and grabs the Gronkle's mouth at the last second, causing it's head to jerk back and fire against the stone wall above Gwen's head. Rattled, but masking it, Steve announces, "And that's six!" Steve wrestles the Gronkle back into his pen. "Go back to bed, ya overgrown sausage! You'll get another chance, don't you worry." _Slam! Lock._ Tony turns to the recruits. "Remember . . . a dragon will always," He gives a stern look to Gwen, "Always go for the kill." Steve hoists Gwen to her feet and walks off. Gwen looks overhead to see a steaming pit in the stone wall.

**The Woods/Hidden Cove**

Gwen, battered after another disastrous day in the ring. She studies the remnants of the discarded bola revealing that she's back at the scene of the crime. "So why didn't you?" Gwen mutters. She drops the bola and presses on in the direction it flew off. She drops into a rocky crevice and follows it into and isolated cove complete with a pristine spring pool. She scans the high stone walls then notices a single black scale on the ground. She crouches and picks it up, studying it. "Well this was stupid." Suddenly, the Night Fury blasts past her. Gwen recoils, watching the massive beast struggle to climb the walls. It flaps violently, then peels away to a rough landing. The dragon is trapped. Gwen grins, excited to see it again, and slips closer.

She watches as the dragon, exhausted and frustrated, leaps into the air, beating it's wings furiously. Again and again, it rolls uncontrolled and crashes heavily. As if remembering to snap a photo, Gwen pulls a leather-bound book and flips past drawings of weapons to a blank page. She sketches the dragon quickly, desperate to record the image. The Fury claws at the steep rock walls, trying to climb out of the cove. It slips and falls hard, crushing several saplings. The Fury rolls back to his feet and slowly crawls to the water's edge. He spots fish in the shallow water and snaps at them but comes up empty. He lowers his head, looking weakened. "Why don't you just fly away?" Gwen mutters, as she spots the problem. She adjusts her drawing, carefully erasing one half of the dragon's tail. She accidently drops the charcoal stick. It rolls off of the rock outcropping that hides her view and bounces into the cove. The Night Fury raises his head, spotting Gwen. They exchange a profound, unflinching stare.


End file.
